Browsing by Author "Velasco, Marcela, advisor"

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Open Access
Civil rights, policy diffusion and the coevolution of immigration and public health in the American food system
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2021) Welsh, Edward S., author; Velasco, Marcela, advisor; Duffy, Robert, advisor; Orsi, Jared, committee member
This research uses the 'policy diffusion framework' to analyze the mechanisms and motivations behind policymaking in the American food system and draw conclusions about the relationship between the policy process and civil rights. It also utilizes analytical concepts lent by historic institutionalism such as process tracing and critical junctures to create a narrative of policy evolution from a cross-case analysis of the most salient issues facing the food system including immigration and public health policies. A case study of the northern Colorado food system details a series of policy adoptions in these issue areas, offering metrics for measuring equality. I hypothesize that the policy diffusion process in the real world has a causal relationship with the civil rights of immigrants and migrants working in food service. I ask the research question, what is the relationship between the policymaking process and civil rights in the food system, and what mechanisms of policy diffusion are active? I find that the policy diffusion process has the best outcomes for civil equality when there is a diversity of stakeholders who take a collaborative approach to the process and share information quickly and often. But, when decisionmakers bias the process by excluding or favoring sets of stakeholders, then the information flow is crippled and policy outcomes negatively affect civil rights.
Open Access
Native soil: contest and control for land and resource rights in the Arctic
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2019) Hodgson, Kara, author; Betsill, Michele, advisor; Velasco, Marcela, advisor; Schultz, Courtney, committee member
The Arctic is a dynamic region that over four million people in eight different countries call their home. Many of the residents belong to indigenous groups who have lived there for millennia. These groups have retained their traditional cultural practices, values, and livelihoods while also having had to adapt to contemporary realities. Since the mid-twentieth century, the region has been increasingly seen as an appealing option for the exploitation of vital natural resources. As such, there has been contestation between industrial actors and Arctic indigenous groups over control of the land and its resources. States have played a pivotal role in mediating the tensions arising from interests in extractive industry development and indigenous groups' rights. In each of the cases presented in this paper, the states have chosen to incorporate their indigenous populations as the solution, although each has done so in a decidedly different way. This paper traces the ways in which indigenous peoples have been incorporated and how their rights to their ancestral lands have been recognized in three different Arctic countries, particularly in situations where there are conflicting interests over the land usage. It posits that the unique historical evolution of institutions in each country, with their idiosyncratic path dependencies and critical junctures, explains why they, and why countries in general, vary in the methods of incorporation they choose.
Open Access
The high cost of stability: security, charisma, and democratic erosion in El Salvador
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2025) Salazar, Daniela, author; Velasco, Marcela, advisor; Weitzel, Daniel, committee member; Martin, Carmen, committee member
Latin America has faced significant challenges associated with democratic erosion, including the weakening of institutions, the concentration of power, and certain restrictions on civil liberties. El Salvador, under the administration of Nayib Bukele, stands out as a relevant case due to the political dynamics that have emerged in recent years. While Salvadoran democracy has historically been fragile, recent changes have accelerated its deterioration at an unprecedented pace. The main objective of this study is to analyze the causes of democratic erosion. My explanation is that three key factors, insecurity, leader charisma, and opposition fragmentation, have facilitated democratic erosion and the consolidation of authoritarian tendencies in this country. The central hypothesis is that these three factors have been decisive in shaping these political dynamics. Through a qualitative approach, the study will seek to evaluate this hypothesis by analyzing primary data, such as Bukele's speeches and the policies implemented under his administration, as well as secondary sources, including academic reports and reports from non-governmental organizations.